The Lord is: Mary, the beloved disciple, and the recognition by the sea.

Dominus est!

Jo 21,7, Evangelho da Sexta-feira da Oitava da Páscoa

Meditação mariológica a partir das leituras da Sexta-feira da Oitava da Páscoa (Jo 21,1-14)

They fish all night and catch nothing. At dawn, a Stranger on the shore says, “Cast the net to the side of the boat” (Jo 21:6). The net is full of fish. Then the Beloved Disciple recognizes: “Dominus est! [It is the Lord!]” (Jo 21:7). Not Peter, who is the first to run to meet Him, but the Beloved Disciple, who sees and recognizes first. There is a mariological logic in this recognition: the Beloved Disciple is the one entrusted by Mary as her son at the foot of the Cross. Those who draw near to Mary learn to recognize the Lord.

The liturgy of the Octave’s Friday presents us with a text of profound Mariological richness, not because Mary is mentioned directly, but because the character closest to her is the one who first shouts “Dominus est.” Mariology cannot ignore this connection.

I. O Discípulo Amado: Filho de Maria

In the scene of Calvary, the Risen One addresses the Beloved Disciple with words that express Mary’s spiritual motherhood: “Woman, behold your son!” And to the disciple: ‘Behold your Mother'” (Jo 19,26-27). From that moment on, “‘the disciple took her into his home'” (into the very depths of his life).

Ignace de la Potterie, in his book *Maria nel mistero dell’alleanza* (1988), demonstrates that this *acolher* is not physical but spiritual: the Beloved Disciple receives Mary as a teacher of faith, model of contemplation, companion of the *mysterium fidei*. Those who live with Mary learn to see with her eyes, and these eyes are those of faith that recognize the Son.

It is for this reason that on the morning of Tiberias, it is the Beloved Disciple who first shouts Dominus est. This is not a narrative coincidence but a theological consequence. The pedagogy of Mary, she who “kept all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:19), formed in the disciple a paschal sensitivity capable of recognizing the Risen One where others see only a Stranger on the shore.

II. A Fogueira de Brasas e a Memória da Negação

The most subtle detail of the text is the reference to the fire of coals (anthrakia, Jo 21,9). The same Greek term appears only in another place in the Gospel of John: on the night of the betrayal, when Peter warms his hands by a fire of coals and denies three times (Jo 18,18). John connects the two moments with the same word. The fire of Tiberias is the space of mercy where denial is transformed.

Where is Mary Now?

The Church’s tradition, as received in the *Directory on Popular Piety* (n. 157), describes Mary as the *Mother of Mercy* who, during the Paschal days, intercedes for the disciples who have failed. The literal fire of embers from John 21 is the concrete sign that her intercession was heard: the Risen One does not accuse, but prepares breakfast!The Marian principle of the Church is the principle of mercy that welcomes before judging. Peter, who denied Christ, is the first to enter the sea and go to meet the Lord (John 21:7). Mary fostered this impulse of bold confidence: not merit for what she did, but love for what she expected.

III. “Do You Know Who I Am?”: Recognized Identity

“None of the disciples dared to ask him who he was, because they knew it was the Lord” (John 21:12). A Johannine paradox: they know and do not ask because the evidence of his presence surpasses the need for question. Recognition does not come from a logical demonstration but from an experience of communion: the broken bread, the roasted fish, the fire lit for them.Paschal Mariology here identifies the pattern of Eucharistic recognition that Mary lived throughout her life. As Pope John Paul II wrote in *Ecclesia de Eucharistia* (2003, n. 55): “Maria is a woman eucharistic in all her life.” The attitude of the disciples in Tiberias, “We know it’s the Lord,” without needing to ask, reflects those formed by Mary’s Eucharistic pedagogy.The *Sub tuum praesidium*, the oldest Marian antiphona (3rd century), invokes Mary as Theotokos precisely in this context: she who gave birth to the Lord is the guarantee of the identity of the Risen One. In moments of doubt, turning to Mary is turning to the source of certainty about who Christ is.

IV. “Shepherd My Sheep”: Mission Born of Recognition

The text of John 21 culminates in Peter’s rehabilitation dialogue: “Do you love me? … Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). The pastoral mission arises from the recognition of the Risen One and the love that confirms it. Only those who recognized “Dominus est” can feed.*Redemptoris Mater* (John Paul II, 1987, n. 45) states: “The Marian dimension of the life of Christ’s disciples expresses itself in a special way in faithfulness to apostolic ministry.” Mary, present at the Cenacle with the Eleven (Acts 1:14), is the mother of apostolic fidelity. Peter receives the mission to feed and accepts it in a setting of mercy whose model is Mary.We invite you to contemplate by the sea of Tiberias today, with the eyes of the Beloved Disciple, who learned from Mary to recognize the Lord where others see only a Stranger. May our lives be a fishing expedition guided by her ‘fiat’ at dawn of each day!Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian Apparitions, and Post-Graduate Studies in Mariology.To delve into Joanic Marian theology and the recognition of Christ the Risen, consult Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Redemptoris Mater.Prof. Daniel AfonsoRome, April 10, 2026